Design and Commissioning of a High-Energy Impact Hammer for Large-Diameter Monopile Installation in the Deltares Centrifuge

Cihan Cengiz; Ahmed Said Kamal Elkadi; A. R. Piedrabuena; Rob Zwaan; Koen Castelein; T. Quinten; Miguel Angel Cabrera

Publication Title
Design and Commissioning of a High-Energy Impact Hammer for Large-Diameter Monopile Installation in the Deltares Centrifuge

Abstract

This contribution elaborates on the design and commissioning of a large impact hammer developed at Deltares for use in the geotechnical centrifuge. The hammer is intended to enable in-flight installation of monopiles with a model diameter of 0.1 m, corresponding to 10 m in prototype scale, under 100 g conditions. This represents a significant scale-up compared to previous centrifuge impact hammers, both in terms of the blow energy delivered and the pile size that can be installed. The development builds upon earlier efforts such as the cam-driven hammers reported in the literature, but targets higher energy levels, improved controllability, and structural robustness to accommodate the larger model dimensions. The paper outlines the main design considerations including the mechanical energy delivery system, ram and anvil configuration, pile-hammer interface. Instrumentation to monitor impact forces, penetration resistance, and embedment depth will be integrated in the system to capture installation performance at high fidelity. The commissioning phase currently involves off-flight calibration tests. Future endeavours will include in-flight trials, during which challenges associated with scaling energy input and maintaining repeatability under enhanced gravitational fields will be addressed. The hammer is expected to enable systematic research on the influence of installation method and energy on the axial and lateral response of large-diameter monopiles for offshore wind applications.

Authors
Cihan Cengiz; Ahmed Said Kamal Elkadi; A. R. Piedrabuena; Rob Zwaan; Koen Castelein; T. Quinten; Miguel Angel Cabrera

Published In

11th International Conference on Physical Modelling in Geotechnics (ICPMG2026)

Theme

Special Session 3: Physical Modelling of Installation of Fixed OWT Foundations